A Better Conditioning Hair Experience?

Yes! It's possible.  Instead of applying your condtioner on your hair while it's wet (directly out of the shower) instead try applying your conditioner on your hair while it's dry.  This allows the conditioner to seap into your hair strand with better results because your hair will not be occupied by filling water molecules.  When our hair is wet it fills up our hair strand, this disallows other products from getting into our hair and working.  So I have applying my hair conditioners on my hair before I get into the shower to wash my hair.  My hair feels so soft and moisturized.  So my washing routine pretty much consists of...

• Applying conditioner to my hair while it is dry.
• Rinsing the conditioner out, then wash my hair with a moisturizing shampoo.
• Then I apply more conditioner to my hair and with the water running down my hair I then begin to detangle. 
• The last and final step consist of applying another amount of conditioner to my hair then rinsing half of that out, I never rinse all of my conditioner out.
• Then I follow up with a leave-in and air dry.

Thats all I do!

Here's more info on my hair washing technique




Here's more info on applying conditioner on dry hair

Top 5 Hair Ingredients to Run From!

I am going to be very direct on each ingredient, so here we go:

1. Sulfates- Normally found in cleaning agents like shampoo. Sulfates are used for cleaning the hair and removing dirt and oil from the scalp. HOWEVER, sulfates have the tendency to remove too much of our natural oils from our scalp leaving our hair dry, stripped, and thirsty! Instead try different shampoos that are on the market like organic shampoos, Hair One (found at Sally's), or the old Cream of Nature shampoos (not the orange bottels).  If you still feel the need to use sulfate shampoos then just make sure you are moisturizing your hair so that it won't get too dry.

2. Mineral Oil- Found in hair lotions, conditioners, and leave-ins.  This product prevents moisture from entering your hair shaft and does not moisturize your hair, it does nothing, but dry your hair out. Instead look for moisturizers, conditioners, or leave-ins with water, coconut oil, olive oil, honey, shea butter, cetyl alcohol, or anything natural.  Moisture is key to healthy hair.

3. Patroletum- Also found in hair lotions and leave-ins.  Patroletum just sits on the hair and does not moisturize, just like mineral oil.  This ingredient if quite similar to putting Vaseline on your hair.  YUCK!

4. Dimethecone- Mostly found in hair lotions and conditioners, this is not as bad as mineral oil, but using too much can weigh your hair down and cause build up.  I personally don't mind a little dimethecone, one of my favorite conditioners contain dimethecone in the second ingredient so a little is not so bad, but too much will make it hard for moisture or any product to enter your hair strand.

5.  Isopropyl Alcohol- Also found in conditioners and probaly some hair lotions, this alcohol is too strong for our hair.  This is like putting witch hazel in our hair..not good.  This can also be another drying agent to our hair.  Stay awayyy!

So I really hope this was informative to you and I hope it will allow you to be more mindful to what you are putting into your hair, if you are already on your hair journey and are looking out for bad ingredients kudos to you!!! I posted a video on youtube dicussing the same info here is the link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndLAo0fh5yY  Have an awesome day ^-^

-Compliments of Sharmaine369 ♥

Natural Face Cleanser: Witch Hazel

Witch hazel is a natural astringent for the skin, it helps to cleanse the face, and removes bacteria that can cause acne and skin irritation. So I recently started using this product because I just discovered that my face is sensitive and can not deal with too many ingredients or chemicals so I've been searching for good quality or natural face products that deal with sensitive skin. After using the witch hazel for a about 3 weeks now I can break down my review as so:

Pros: Very gentel on the skin, removes bacteria, closes pores, leaves skin feeling very clean and smooth.

Cons: Leaves skin dry!

Overall even though the witch hazel leaves the skin feeling dry I find that if you follow up with a good non clogging oil or moisturizer you will be good to go!

Kudos for clean healthy skin!!

-Compliments of Sharmaine369 ♥

Forgive My Lack of Blogging!!

Forgive me! I've been busy with school, youtube, and a few other special things, but I am here.  Recently I have posted videos on youtube regarding a smokey eye tutorial, a video on braidouts, and an awesome video about hair ingredients.  Here is my youtube channel http://www.youtube.com/user/sharmaine369 so go check those out.  I have recently brought a ton of new products that I will do reviews on so yes enjoy and i'll talk to you soon :)

-Compliments of Sharmaine369 ♥

Self Relaxers: Here are some tips

So I made a video on some tips for self relaxers and I wanted to put those tips here..so here we go

Before Relaxing:

-Avoid scratching your scalp as much as possible.  If you scratch your scalp within a week of relaxing your hair especially if you use a lye relaxer (Mizani, Affirm, etc.) it will burn a lot if you get any relaxer on the scalp, so avoid scratching!!
-Do a few protein treatments before relaxing because it will keep your hairs strength up, therfore when you relax your hair won't be weak when you are done.  Remember: protein is very important in the structure of your hair so skipping this step will result to poor structure especially after relaxing.
-Detangle your hair for a better relaxing experience.  Besides if you don't detangle your hair before relaxing you will most likely be underprocess (not relax).

During the Relaxing Process:

-If you decide to use a lye relaxer make sure you base your scalp with vaseline, oil, any type of protecting agent to prevent scalp burns from the relaxer and as usual apply vasaline around your head and nape to avoid skin irritation.
-Oil your already relaxer hair without getting any oil on your new growth.  Applying oil to your already relaxed hair will prevent overprocessing and damage to the already relaxed hair.
-After applying your relaxer use your fingers or the back of a comb to smooth out the relaxer this results to a much straighter and smoother relaxing results.
-The half and half method is a God send for me! I love this method, it takes a lot of time, but I love it.  So basically all you are doing is relaxing half your head preferbaly the front half first then when you are done applying the relaxer to the half of your hair, rinse the relaxer out.  When you are done relaxing do the other half of the hair, rinse the relaxer off, then proceed to do whatever you normally do.
-Last but not least, the most important part of relaxing your hair is what you do after you rinse the relaxer out of your hair.  Normally what I do is first rinse the relaxer out of my hair without using any shampoo, then I apply a protein treatment, then I neutralize for about 5-6 washes, then I apply a special porosity conditioner to lower the pH of my hair to about 4-4.5, then I deep condition using a lot of moisturizing conditioners under a dryer. 

So yeah I believe those are the most important tips that I can give you to have a great relaxing experience. Hope you enjoyed, here is the video of me talking about it : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvFdFYxHBGk

-Compliments of Sharmaine369 ♥

Banana Chips!!

So I don't know why, but the past couple of days I have been addicted to banana chips..there so good!! I started off with a 15 oz tin and now its like pretty much done..all in the matter of 3 days!! Crazy! There also super healthy too ( I hope) they contain bananas, coconut oil, sugar, and banana flavor.  Haha I was a little skeptical about the "banana flavor" like why is there banana flavor if there are actual bananas already in there..mmmhhh??  Anywayzz yeah there good..got them from my beloved WalMart! Love that freakin store..anywayzzz peace off to bed.. :)

-Compliments of Sharmaine369 ♥

So Many Topics! So Little Time!

So I have new vids up as I always do around the weekend, and I  realize that I haven't done a video on hair in a some time now or post so that really needs to change asap.  I have brought a few hair products that are simply amazing and I can't wait to post about that and its wonderful goodness :).  I have talked about some of the new domincan products that I recently brought, but never really done a full review on them..so look out for those!  As i'm typing this right now I totally forgot that I have a pizza in the oven and now its burnt!..o well..anywayzz! More to come..so look out for it and FOLLOW MEA! peace :)

Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/sharmaine369

-Compliments of Sharmaine369 ♥

New Videos Up!

Hey all.  I just put up 4 new videos on youtube! http://www.youtube.com/user/sharmaine369 I posted a video about dry eyeshadow vs wet eyeshadow, how to cure your dry lips (if you have em) with vasaline and a toothbrush, my daily makeup routine, and a mall haul.  So yeah I am trying to post more videos up on the weekend, I cant do anything during the week because school is soo hectic.  So yeah umm..I am going to the mall AGAIN this weekend (2 weeks in a row) so I should have another mall haul video up soon.  What else? Oh yeah!! I just brought my first steam hair rollers "Caruso" and I am super xcited to talk about them and show how I use them.  So yeah that is it..bout to finish some homework..Peaccee ^-^

-Compliments of Sharmaine369 ♥

How I Wrap My Hair Up at Night, Moisturize and Seal Video

Hello again! I just posted another video on how I wrap my hair at night and I am also showing how I moisturize and seal my hair.  This video shows a very important step in achieving healthy growing hair.  Always make sure your hair is protected when your sleeping by wearing silk or satin scarves, bonnets, or laying your pretty head on satin or silk pillow cases.  This prevents dryness and breakage, regular pillow cases made of cotton or polyester will suck all the moisture from your hair and will break your precious hair strands. Baby your hair ladies and gents!

-Compliments of Sharmaine369 ♥

*Here's the link to the video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-Zi2T4mPB8 or you can watch it below just make sure to pause the music if you want...life is nice having choices ^-^ ...♥

Tips of Growing Healthy Hair Video

Helloo! So just a quick update I just posted a video on some tips for growing healthy hair, hope you like!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qc6abooppMk

Here are the steps that I discuss:

• Moisturizing and Sealing Your Hair
• Resisting Temptation (Heat)
• Be Positive and have Patience

-Compliment of Sharmaine369 ♥

Aveeno Positively Radiant Daily Cleansing Pads

I have been eyeing these cleansing pads for the past 2-3 weeks now and I finally gave in and decided to buy.  So Aveeno claims that the pads gently exfoliates to reveal skin's natural radiance.  One of the key ingredients in the pads is soy which is suppose to help even out the skin tone if there is any discoloration on your face.  The pads have two different textured sides, one smooth and the other with little scrubbies.  So when I first tried the cleansing pads I had make up on my skin, more so on my eyelids.  After wetting my face I used the smooth side of the pad on my face and it began to have a light foamy soapy lather that was very gentle.  The eyeshadow I had on my eyelids wiped right off within a couple of strokes of the pad.  Then I flipped the pad around and began to use the scrubby (exfoliation) side and the little scrubs were not harsh at all, just overall gentle and moisturizing.  Finally, I rinsed my face then applied coconut oil for moisture and voila completo!  Overall I can safely say that I like the cleansing pads a lot because of these keys reasons.

• The removal of make up from my face was a breeze.
• Moisture!!
• Love the double sided pads.
• Natural soy makes me happy, especially if it's known for bringing radiance to skin.
• Actually left my face feeling CLEAN!
• HOWEVER, if you don't follow up with a moisturiser your face may feel a little dry, some facial moisturizer or coconut oil should do the trick!

Overall I like this product and I can't wait to see the longterm results.  Thats it for now..peace!!

-Compliments of Sharmaine369 ♥

My Hair Six Months No Relaxer Results!

Ok so in recent post I stated that I was stretching my relaxer for six months, well the six months are up and I have relaxed my hair. I self-relaxed with Mizani Butter Blends-Normal and I really love the results, I am so excited about my growth.  Here is my hair journey and my hair now!

April 2009

August 2009

January 2010

So yes :) I am excited as you can see you there is visible growth and I am loving my results.  I also made a video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCPwFdhujh4 . Check it out!! :)

-Compliments of Sharmaine369 ♥

E.L.F Cosmetics!!

I just purchased some makeup from http://www.eyeslipsface.com/ also known as E.L.F cosmetics.  E.L.F sales very cheap cosmetics, I mean dirt cheap like $1.00 cheap and your getting really good products.  I ordered four eyeshadows, one blush, one eye primer, two really great brushes, a great auto black eyeliner, and I got a free lip gloss.  Out of everything I recieved I was truly pleased with what I got for what I paid for.  I have a video on youtube discussing the products, swatches, and the names of the products that I recieved, here's the video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6sL9hUZoLOg , hope you like!

                                             

  -Compliments of Sharmaine369 ♥

Hair Products That I Love

So recently I uploaded a video on youtube discussing the different hair products that I love and just my take on them.  You can check the video out at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AO8d99IJ5AE. Thanks guys!

-Compliments of Sharmaine369 ♥

Ojon Ultra Hydrating Conditioner

Okay so Ojon Ultra Hydrating Conditioner is simple awesome!! My hair is thick and is prone to dryness, this is like the perfect deep conditioner for thick hair and any types of hair, it's just that good.  I have nothing bad to say about this product...it is so good. Okay so it has a lot of great stuff in it like shea butter, almond oil, olive oil, macademia oil, and other very essential oils that are norishing to the hair. I applied this conditioner on dry hair, because when you apply conditioner on dry hair the conditioner absorbs more into the hair strand resulting into a better conditioning experience.  Next I rinse it out in the shower and my hair felt like BUTTER no lie, I love it and I might make this a keeper.  The only downside about this product is the price which normally reaches to about $22..yes $22, so it can be pricey, but look at all the high quality ingredients your getting.  So yeah Ojon Ultra Hydrating Conditioner is my new fav and I lovvve it!! I can not wait to wash my hair this weekend so I can use it again.  Hope you all get a chance to try it out, there is a sample bottle on the Sephora website for about $9, so if your afraid to take the plunge and by the regular size bottle then I suggest buying the smaller bottle.  Hope you enjoyed!!

-Compliments of Sharmaine369 ♥

L'Oreal True Match and Revlon Colorstay Foundation in Cappuccino

Hellooo! Okay so I have been looking for a good foundation for about a month now, but haven't really been buying anything so this past weekend I went to CVS and brought two foundations that I have been hearing good reviews on so i decided to take a plunge into trying out foundations and hopefully giving you all some insight if you are currently in the search for a good foundation.  So lets start with some pictures!

L'Oreal True Match

Revlon Colorstay

Okay so L'Oreal True Match had pretty good coverage and blended very easy almost like silk, it felt good and had more of a cool tone to it.  However the Revlon Colorstay offered great coverage, blended easy (not like silk), and gave me a toasty warm glow that I really liked.  When I first tried the Revlon Colorstay I was a little skeptical because it looks darker then what it really is, but once you blend it in it's like a perfect patch. So yes both foundation are great and if your looking for a pretty good foundation you can't go wrong.    Below is a url to my youtube video where I am doing a mini review on the two products and it also includes more pictures.  So if you want check it out :) Thanks 4 reading!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QT6iDu_WR2U

-Compliments of Sharmaine369

Hi-Shine Lip Treatment

First let me start off by telling you that this lip gloss is wonderful and the smell is so good.  Okay so basically this is Hi-Shine Lip Treatment by The Body Shop.  I had tried a sample of this gloss awhile back and fell in love with it, then just recently I found the store in my local mall and I had to have it.  It runs over ten bucks but it's worth every penny because it leaves your lips feeling soft, juicy, and smelling like some type of sweet candy fruit (sry that the best I could come up with lol), but overall its good and it gives just a little hint of color which compliments by skin tone.  I have this lip gloss in the color "Red Gleam" just like the one in the picture and they also provide many different colors and scents.  Overall this is a very good moisturizing lip gloss and I will purchase this again.  If you get the opportunity to try it please do so because it's worth it. I'm about to put some on right now..peace!!

-Compliments of Sharmaine369 ♥

Covergirl Lash Blast Mascara Review

So I wanted to review this mascara for what it really is and what it is not.  First off the main point of this mascara is for big bold lashes with great definition.  In my review, I really like it because it gives a bold look and it extends the lashes slightly, but not too over dramatic.  However this mascara is not the mascara for long lengthy lashes, just boldness.  Applying the mascara using the brush can be a little tricky at times especially if you are trying to get an all around full bold length on each lash because the brush is very big, probably the biggest mascara brush I have ever used.  Also sometimes the macara can clump a bit on the lashes if you use too much, being that the brush is pretty big a little goes a long way.  I have this mascara in black which is the color I normally buy for my brown eyes because it tends to make them pop.  Overall scale to 1-10 I would give Lash Blast an 8.  So if your looking for a good mascara to get the job done this is it right here. 

                                -Compliments of Sharmaine369 ♥